when stars tumble
Fandom: Naruto
Characters: Uchiha Sasuke & Haruno Sakura
Prompts: 167. dancing in the fountain & emotions: 10. lonely & 46. healing
Word Count: 4007
Rating: T (contains content not suitable for children)
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Warning: Suggested smut. Nothing detailed, though.
Notes: Written for 500themes & mission_insane & lover100.
-
The first time he really saw her, his only thought was that she had to be completely, absolutely, irresistibly insane.
Like a fluttering, living sculpture she floated in the water, with a lightness to her steps that looked miraculous. He’d almost thought that she was standing on the water. That, he blamed on the five glasses of Chardonnay back inside the reception. The quaint, mid-sized fountain with priceless statues somehow looked complete with its newest addition. Sasuke quite liked the way she fluttered and flitted around, bringing with her a trail of red as she danced.
Against the backdrop of sparkling night stars, ageless marble and glimmering water reflecting the twinkles, she was a gem, a vision in dark rouge and cerise, twirling her way to infinity. And twirl she did - the dark pumps wrapped dangerously within her slender fingers threatened to break free with every new spin, flipping with the violence of the speed. Then her head twisted, showing him the playful smirk curled deliciously on her lips.
“Hey,” she called softly, wading over in the shallow water. He noted that she, unlike other women, didn’t fuss over the hem of her beautiful crafted dress. “The best man shouldn’t leave the groom in there to wallow alone.”
“And what of the maid of honour?” he smirked back, his legs taking him unconsciously towards her. “Aren’t you being a little hypocritical?”
The soft, melodious laugh that was her answer surprised him, even more so because he found that he enjoyed the sound. Her eyes sparkled when she spoke again. “Touch, Sasuke-san.”
There was a challenge in her voice, as if daring him to remember her name. Daring him to use it with such familiarity. But Sasuke was never to be outdone. “I’m never wrong, Sakura.”
“Oh?” she replied, sitting down delicately on the ledge. Unconsciously, he followed her lead. “And what do you think it is that I’m doing out here?”
“Hiding. What else?”
“Bravo!” She seemed genuinely impressed with her smile, the amusement curving wondrously on her lips. For some reason he couldn’t quite fathom, his own lips were itching to curve into the same expression, even after the realization that she was simply toying with her words.
“I don’t-”
“Sakura!” Simultaneously, their heads whipped towards the direction of the interruption. They were a whirlwind of onyx and cerise mixed in a blur, and a small frown marred Neji’s features at the sight. He hadn’t realized that the Uchiha was so intimately acquainted with his girlfriend.
“Neji!” she beamed, literally leaping boundaries, landing gracefully in said man’s arms. Sasuke could no longer see her gems for eyes, but he was sure they sparkled when she spoke again. “You found me.”
Without even looking back, the pair bounded away arm in arm, idly chatter lingering in the air. When they were far enough away for Sasuke to safely glare at their retreating backs, a sweet sounding ‘bye, Sasuke-kun!’ found his ears, and he didn’t even notice the ease in his glare.
What he did notice was that she had dropped the -san in favour of a more familiar -kun.
-
The next time he saw her, he walked right by her.
And then he paused, turned slowly, and traced his steps backwards. If it wasn’t for her shock of pink hair, encased haphazardly in a half-hearted bun, he wouldn’t have recognized her at all. Curled cosily in the innermost corner of the quaint coffee shop, draped in an oversized sweater and black tights with fluffy legwarmers, she cooked as comfy as could be. With her legs bunched up towards her, the cup of still-steaming coffee sitting before her and her bright emeralds tracing a line in - he squinted - Pride and Prejudice - he wounded how he had missed her the first time.
“Sakura,” he found himself saying as he walked over. He had already dropped down into the empty chair before he’d realized his actions.
“Sasuke-kun!” she looked up in surprise, a genuinely happy smile settled on her face. “What brings you here?”
He raised a patrician eyebrow at this, a finger jabbing half-heartedly towards the window. Her eyes traced the line his finger drew, whether to humour him or to satiate her own curiosity, he didn’t know. What he did know was that the soft melodious laughter that followed was a sound he’d missed over the past six months. “Of course. Silly me! It’s about negative fifty gazillion outside. No wonder you’re hiding!”
A smirk found his lips. “Pride and Prejudice?”
“Yes!” she lit up at the name of the book in her hands. “Eh. If only I could find my Mr. Darcy.”
“What about Neji?”
She froze at the name, her features losing their sunshine. It only took her a moment to recover, but the damage was lasting. She waved Neji’s name away with a laugh. “We’re not quite like Lizzie and Darcy.”
Sasuke narrowed his eyes a fraction. There was a story there, one that he wanted nothing more than to probe at. But an awkwardness hung in the air between them now at the mention of Neji, and Sasuke’s first order of business was to clear it. Sakura, though, beat him to it. “What’ve you been up to these past months?” she said as she reached for her mug. “It feels like it’s been forever since Naruto’s wedding.”
“Work,” he replied simply. Despite his unfairly handsome features, his workaholic tendencies gave him no chance to philander like a man of his age ought. Instead of kisses for company, late nights on the couch with cold coffee was his only solace.
At his words, she scrunched her nose in distaste. “If you work too hard, too much, you’re going to become an old man prematurely.”
He twitched. “And what about you? Still dancing in fountains?”
It was her turn to offer a smarmy reply. “Only if I wanted frostbite, Sasuke-kun.”
If Sasuke was embarrassed by his mindless comment, it didn’t show. “Well,” he leaned back into his chair with swagger that could only be described as cool, “I wouldn’t know what to expect. You were dancing in a fountain, after all.”
“Hey!” she pouted, and he thought no expression ever looked more delectable. “In my defence, the moon had made the marble shine like a million twinkling stars.”
“Of course,” he replied, his voice holding a suspiciously teasing lilt. ”And I’m sure the empty bottle of Chardonnay you were clutching like a lifeline had nothing to do with it.”
“I only had half the bottle - honestly!”
At the playfully exasperated expression settled on her face, Sasuke found that all his wit and knack for a smart repartee had deserted him quite unceremoniously. The silence that had settled over them once again was comfortable enough, and he was satisfied to simply watch the progression of the cherry blush that was spreading across her face as she realized that he was quite blatantly staring her down.
That is, until the classic repetitive tone of her cell phone broke their trance. She muttered a quick ‘excuse me’ before stealing a glance at the glowing screen. When she caught sight of the name, the pretty flush in her cheeks and she shot up from her chair with speed he didn’t think was possible for such a girl.
“Sorry Sasuke-kun, but I have to run!” By the time the last word escaped her parted lips, she had already staggered to the door, her bag strewn haphazardly across her shoulders. The small ringing of the door bell alerted his senses of her departure, and he didn’t know how to categorize the uneasy feeling within him at the realization that he had been ditched by her, twice.
And it wasn’t until he caught sight of the weathered copy of Pride and Prejudice still sitting on the table that he realized that he was indeed, very screwed.
He shook his head mentally at himself before reaching out to grab the old book, clutching it tightly in his long fingers.
It had only been twice, but she had captured his attention more than any other of her gender ever had.
-
The third time he saw her, he recognized her straight away.
Perhaps it was because she plagued his mind more than constantly, but he was in no place to admit that to anyone, not even himself. So he settled on believing that it was simply because her vibrant hair contrasted everything else at the black-tie party they were both currently attending.
And it didn’t take him long to notice that her not-quite Mr. Darcy was latched firmly onto her thin arms. When her bright emeralds picked him out from the monochrome crowd, they sparkled like a diamond in the sun. “Sasuke-kun!” she waved, a delicate flip of her hand. “Over here!”
It wasn’t his style to oblige the whims of a girl, but his legs had grown a will of their own. With the grace of an Uchiha, he weaved his way through the crowd effortlessly to arrive at a short stop in front of the beaming couple. “Sakura,” he acknowledged. “Neji.”
“Sasuke-kun!” she beamed, the innocent smile hanging on her lips. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised to see you here, eh?”
“Aa,” he replied, suddenly uneasy in the presence of this girl and her whateverboy. But whatever he was feeling inside had no chance of making it onto his patrician features, and he offered them a small nod before sweeping himself away to converse with a nearby socialite.
He hated associating himself with those gold digger socialites - but today, it somehow seemed like the lesser of two evils. He had nothing against the Hyuuga man - he was a good businessman, managed his corporation with adequacy. It was just that whenever Sasuke saw him so near her, any respect he had for the man dissipated all too fast.
And he could barely explain why.
It was a slow night from then - and he wondered momentarily why he had come at all. Glimpses of the cerise haired woman in dazzling emerald today were few and far between, something that conflicted him greatly. On one hand, he wanted to see her; she was perfectly tolerable to the eyes, he told himself. But he had absolutely no desire to see the thing still latched onto her arms (i.e. Neji).
And he wouldn’t have remembered at all, had the nearby conversation of a flirting gold digger whore- er, beautiful socialite not drifted to his bored ears.
“Oh, Shio-san, you tease me so!” Cue over exaggerated giggle, and Sasuke needn’t imagine the fluttering eyelids and fingers for him to know her actions - prayers knew how many times that situation had presented itself to him. “Every girl would think first that ‘p&p’ is Pride and Prejudice! It’s a girl’s dream, no?” she paused, watching as Shio laughed heartily to her comment. “But I know now not to embarrass myself! From now on, p&p will forever be ‘playboy and porn’ in my mind,” she added with a last laugh.
Sasuke tuned out Shio’s booming laughter. It was only a moment later that he remembered the weathered, dog-eared copy of Pride and Prejudice still lying on his desk, lost against the volcanic mess of papers. He resigned himself to putting the pages in his car once he returned home - there seemed to be no pattern, no rule to when she would pop up in his life.
For the remainder of the night, unbeknownst to him, the thousand-watt scowl eased slightly from his face.
-
The fourth time he saw her, he could hardly recognize her.
Sasuke nearly recoiled with the shock of her appearance, but caught his facials just in time. Nothing alarming passed through his carefully filtered features, lest he offend her in some mundane way (not that he cared of course. It was simply for formality’s sake). Clearly, if nothing else could be deduced from the situation, it was that something had gone terribly, terribly wrong.
“Sakura?” he ventured hesitantly.
A sniffle arose from the Sakura-esque being before she looked up. When her bleary emeralds met him, there was no denying her identity. But what the hell had happened to her?
“Oh. Sasuke-kun,” she monotoned. “Hi.”
“Are you okay?”
She shot him an incredulous look, as if silently asking if he was absolutely stupid. But to her credit she said nothing about it as she shrugged, “I’ve been better.”
Clearly, Sasuke thought. He dropped down next to her on the ledge, and they lapsed into a comfortable silence then. Taking this opportunity, Sasuke really studied her. It was true, she was an absolute mess. There were unseemly bags under her eyes that spoke of long, sleepless nights and her cheeks, which had held a healthy flush before, were barely there now. Evidently, she had skipped out on a few meals, if the hollow in her cheeks and accentuated cheekbones were any indication. There was also no trace of makeup on her face; though she had never worn much, Sasuke could tell that there was absolutely nothing artificial on her now. The effect was a tired girl, more tired than he had ever seen her, yet-
Yet, he still thought she was absolutely beautiful. She looked almost ethereal, sitting there, staring off into the distance.
Sasuke snapped out of his trance when she shivered, a chilly winter-spring breeze passing them by. Immediately, he shrugged out of his coat and draped it over her shoulders. At first, she looked as if she were about to protest, but the energy to do even that left her, and she only offered a quiet thank you.
At long last, she uttered a quiet, “How are you?”
Though he doubted she really cared about how he was and conversation looked to be the last thing she needed at the moment, he indulged. “All right.”
“You haven’t changed a bit, have you?”
“People in general don’t really change.”
She laughed a little then, but it died as fast as it had arisen. “Sasuke-kun, surely, you don’t think I’m still the same? You must be thinking, ‘good god, what in heaven’s has happened to this girl? She’s an awful mess.’”
“Not quite in those words, no.”
“You’re just too nice, Sasuke-kun,” she paused, tilting her head slightly. “You’ve always been a super nice guy. You just hide it behind that touch façade of yours.”
“How could you tell?” His tone was half-teasing, but he genuinely wanted to know why she sounded so sure.
“You’re still here talking to me, aren’t you? You, the successful, young millionaire, sitting by the roadside talking to a girl who looks as good as homeless. Now what does that tell you, Sasuke-kun?”
“You’re not homeless, Sakura.”
“I know that. You know that. The world doesn’t.”
“What happened to you, Sakura? It’s not like you to sound so pessimistic. That’s my role.”
She shrugged softly. “Someone told me that this is what love does to you. If this is what love is, then I think it’s awfully ugly.”
Sasuke clenched his fists. The Hyuuga did this to her?
“But no,” she continued. “I don’t think this is love, thank god for that. For love to have done this, I would’ve had to be in love and be loved in return to begin with. This is something else entirely.”
For the first time, she smiled somewhat genuinely up at him. Ironically, this concerned him more than anything else that had transpired between them already. It looked like it took so much effort on her part that she was ready to collapse.
Alarmed, he stood up. “Sakura. Let’s go. And here, put this on.” As he said this, he shrugged out of his jacket and put it over her shoulders. When she made no effort to move, he grabbed her wrist and started to lead her away. She neither protested the action nor approved, but she walked with him nonetheless. They reached his car after a few minutes, and once they got in, Sasuke remembered her novel.
“Here,” he said as he handed her the book. “You left this in the café last time.”
She brightened considerably at the sight of it. “Oh! You grabbed it for me? I was so disheartened when I thought I’d lost it for good. It’s a precious copy to me. Loads of sentimental value and all that jazz. Thanks, Sasuke-kun!”
She actually hugged the weathered book to her chest as she said this. Sasuke was simply glad that some of her usual liveliness returned.
“Where are we going, Sasuke-kun?”
He didn’t answer for a while, weighing his words carefully. “Somewhere you can rest peacefully. After you do, then, we’ll talk.”
-
It turned out the place he was talking about was his very own apartment. It was a spacious loft, clean and crisp, black and white. Sakura was at a loss. At the look on her face, Sasuke shook his head.
“Don’t worry. I don’t mean anything more than to give you a place to just god damn rest. You look like you haven’t slept for weeks. Clearly, where you usually sleep isn’t working for you. I thought someplace foreign might do you some good.”
The protest died on Sakura’s tongue at his thoughtful words, and she could do no more than give him a thankful peck on his cheeks. He was gone before she could see his blush, but he reappeared within the minute with a t-shirt and shorts for her. “Here, shower, then take a nice, long rest.”
She followed the direction that he pointed her in, and as soon as she disappeared from his sight, a tiny, tiny real smile blossomed on her face.
She had been right about him all along.
-
In the end, she ended up sleeping for fourteen hours straight.
When she woke up again, bleary and unfocused, she had thought that it was only 9pm the same day. When she walked over to open his industrial blinds, she was shocked by the bright morning sun that streamed in, and she could only smile in exasperation. Sasuke had been right. Sakura hadn’t felt this well rested in weeks. With a blush, she recalled that she’d fallen asleep tangled in the bed sheets that smelled like Sasuke, and she was sure he’d also been in her dreams, all reassurance.
It was then that she smelled the delicious scent of breakfast. Enticed, she left his room in favour of the kitchen, and was surprised by the scene that met her. There Sasuke was, clad in pyjama pants and a t-shirt, frying eggs like a master chef.
Sakura giggled despite herself and made her way towards him.
“I didn’t know you could cook.”
He seemed to notice her for the first time. “You’re awake. How did you sleep?”
“Like I’ve never slept before in my life,” softly, she added. “Thank you, Sasuke-kun.”
“Good. Do you eat eggs?”
“Love them!”
In one smooth movement, he transferred the contents of the pan onto two plates and brought them over to the table. Sakura followed him and for a while, a comfortable silence lapped over them. The curiosity was nearly coming off him in waves, though, and after a few bites, Sakura leaned back.
“So, Sasuke-kun. You’re curious.”
He nodded slowly. “What happened? Who did this to you?”
“I did this to myself, probably,” she mused. “In any case, do you remember how I was dating Neji?”
Sasuke noted the past tense. “Yes.”
“Well, we weren’t really dating, per say. He was a really good friend. One of my closest, after Naruto. Well, a little more than a year ago, he came to me and asked a favour of me.”
“I just had to be his pretend girl friend for a while as he worked out the things with his family. He was already in love with someone else at that point.”
Sasuke looked confused. “But why did he need you?”
“Oh, you know his family. Big and complicated. Well, they already know me and approve of me and everything. Neji dear had this whole thing planned out. There’s really no need for me to cover the logistics, but basically, with me involved, the plan was for him to finally be able to be with her.”
“But you fell for him,” Sasuke deadpanned.
“Oh, nothing as romantic as that,” Sakura replied easily. “He’s like a brother to me.” She paused as she considered her next words. “Now that I think about it, I’ve been awfully pathetic. If you think so, too, Sasuke-kun, you should say so.”
“Pathetic? No.”
“Well you will, in a moment, after I finish. The thing is, I haven’t really been hurt by heartache. Now that I really think about it, I’ve just been left with a really horrid case of abandonment.”
“He left you?”
“Of course, as planned. But as soon as everything worked out, I suddenly realized how absolutely good he’s been to me. Without his constant presence and caring in my life, I suddenly felt so incredibly alone.” She laughed then at herself. “Oh god, look at me. I’ve been running around like a heart broken girl when my heart hasn’t even been touched.”
Sasuke was silent for a long while. “It’s a horrible feeling, being alone.”
“You understand, don’t you, Sasuke-kun?”
He seemed like he didn’t hear, but Sakura could see the agreement written clearly across his person. This was a feeling that couldn’t be accurately communicated in words, and it was enough that they both understood this simple concept.
Suddenly, looking at him, Sakura was hit with a wonderful feeling. The emptiness that had filled her for the past few weeks was gone, replaced by a warmth that radiated from her very core.
This warmth, she knew, was Sasuke.
-
Four months later.
“Sasuke-kun!” she called out from their bedroom. “Where on earth is my white tank top?”
“How the hell should I know? Your shit is everywhere!”
“Hey! Don’t call my shit shit!”
“You just called it shit!” Sasuke said as he appeared through the doorway. True to his words, Sakura’s things were everywhere. His previously neat and prim apartment had been reduced to her habitat. Her clothes were strewn all over their unmade bed, and bits and pieces of her lingerie were dangling in odd places all over the room.
“Oops,” she said as she picked up the offending object from the bed. “My bad, it was here all along!”
“Clean up your things once in a while, won’t you?”
She scurried up to him and threw her arms around his neck, cozying against him. “Aww, but you love me just the way I am, don’t you, Sasuke-kun?”
He grumbled something incoherent in reply. She stopped his mumbling by placing her lips against his, offering him a quick and sweet kiss as compensation. “I love you just like this, my awkward and adorable Sasuke-kun.”
Sasuke looked slightly green at being called ‘awkward and adorable’, but the little nymph in his arms had his thoughts otherwise occupied. She was clad only in her bra and panties, Sasuke realized a little belatedly. Once realized, though, it was a thought that couldn’t be left untended for. She was looking up at him with large, innocent doe eyes. It was an expression that was irresistible to him, and it made him just want to taste her, devour her.
Sasuke wasted not a moment more as he crushed his lips against hers with none of the sweetness she’d offered. He was all urgency and desire as one hand moved to unhook her bra and the other to remove her panties. Somehow, her nimble hands had also worked to remove his own shirt and pants, and they were tumbling on the bed, a mess of tangled limbs and passions.
As they lost each other to their throes of lust and love, there was only one essence of certainty that hung in the air between them, forever and forever present.
They would both never again feel that empty, hollow thing called loneliness.
Characters: Uchiha Sasuke & Haruno Sakura
Prompts: 167. dancing in the fountain & emotions: 10. lonely & 46. healing
Word Count: 4007
Rating: T (contains content not suitable for children)
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Warning: Suggested smut. Nothing detailed, though.
Notes: Written for 500themes & mission_insane & lover100.
-
The first time he really saw her, his only thought was that she had to be completely, absolutely, irresistibly insane.
Like a fluttering, living sculpture she floated in the water, with a lightness to her steps that looked miraculous. He’d almost thought that she was standing on the water. That, he blamed on the five glasses of Chardonnay back inside the reception. The quaint, mid-sized fountain with priceless statues somehow looked complete with its newest addition. Sasuke quite liked the way she fluttered and flitted around, bringing with her a trail of red as she danced.
Against the backdrop of sparkling night stars, ageless marble and glimmering water reflecting the twinkles, she was a gem, a vision in dark rouge and cerise, twirling her way to infinity. And twirl she did - the dark pumps wrapped dangerously within her slender fingers threatened to break free with every new spin, flipping with the violence of the speed. Then her head twisted, showing him the playful smirk curled deliciously on her lips.
“Hey,” she called softly, wading over in the shallow water. He noted that she, unlike other women, didn’t fuss over the hem of her beautiful crafted dress. “The best man shouldn’t leave the groom in there to wallow alone.”
“And what of the maid of honour?” he smirked back, his legs taking him unconsciously towards her. “Aren’t you being a little hypocritical?”
The soft, melodious laugh that was her answer surprised him, even more so because he found that he enjoyed the sound. Her eyes sparkled when she spoke again. “Touch, Sasuke-san.”
There was a challenge in her voice, as if daring him to remember her name. Daring him to use it with such familiarity. But Sasuke was never to be outdone. “I’m never wrong, Sakura.”
“Oh?” she replied, sitting down delicately on the ledge. Unconsciously, he followed her lead. “And what do you think it is that I’m doing out here?”
“Hiding. What else?”
“Bravo!” She seemed genuinely impressed with her smile, the amusement curving wondrously on her lips. For some reason he couldn’t quite fathom, his own lips were itching to curve into the same expression, even after the realization that she was simply toying with her words.
“I don’t-”
“Sakura!” Simultaneously, their heads whipped towards the direction of the interruption. They were a whirlwind of onyx and cerise mixed in a blur, and a small frown marred Neji’s features at the sight. He hadn’t realized that the Uchiha was so intimately acquainted with his girlfriend.
“Neji!” she beamed, literally leaping boundaries, landing gracefully in said man’s arms. Sasuke could no longer see her gems for eyes, but he was sure they sparkled when she spoke again. “You found me.”
Without even looking back, the pair bounded away arm in arm, idly chatter lingering in the air. When they were far enough away for Sasuke to safely glare at their retreating backs, a sweet sounding ‘bye, Sasuke-kun!’ found his ears, and he didn’t even notice the ease in his glare.
What he did notice was that she had dropped the -san in favour of a more familiar -kun.
-
The next time he saw her, he walked right by her.
And then he paused, turned slowly, and traced his steps backwards. If it wasn’t for her shock of pink hair, encased haphazardly in a half-hearted bun, he wouldn’t have recognized her at all. Curled cosily in the innermost corner of the quaint coffee shop, draped in an oversized sweater and black tights with fluffy legwarmers, she cooked as comfy as could be. With her legs bunched up towards her, the cup of still-steaming coffee sitting before her and her bright emeralds tracing a line in - he squinted - Pride and Prejudice - he wounded how he had missed her the first time.
“Sakura,” he found himself saying as he walked over. He had already dropped down into the empty chair before he’d realized his actions.
“Sasuke-kun!” she looked up in surprise, a genuinely happy smile settled on her face. “What brings you here?”
He raised a patrician eyebrow at this, a finger jabbing half-heartedly towards the window. Her eyes traced the line his finger drew, whether to humour him or to satiate her own curiosity, he didn’t know. What he did know was that the soft melodious laughter that followed was a sound he’d missed over the past six months. “Of course. Silly me! It’s about negative fifty gazillion outside. No wonder you’re hiding!”
A smirk found his lips. “Pride and Prejudice?”
“Yes!” she lit up at the name of the book in her hands. “Eh. If only I could find my Mr. Darcy.”
“What about Neji?”
She froze at the name, her features losing their sunshine. It only took her a moment to recover, but the damage was lasting. She waved Neji’s name away with a laugh. “We’re not quite like Lizzie and Darcy.”
Sasuke narrowed his eyes a fraction. There was a story there, one that he wanted nothing more than to probe at. But an awkwardness hung in the air between them now at the mention of Neji, and Sasuke’s first order of business was to clear it. Sakura, though, beat him to it. “What’ve you been up to these past months?” she said as she reached for her mug. “It feels like it’s been forever since Naruto’s wedding.”
“Work,” he replied simply. Despite his unfairly handsome features, his workaholic tendencies gave him no chance to philander like a man of his age ought. Instead of kisses for company, late nights on the couch with cold coffee was his only solace.
At his words, she scrunched her nose in distaste. “If you work too hard, too much, you’re going to become an old man prematurely.”
He twitched. “And what about you? Still dancing in fountains?”
It was her turn to offer a smarmy reply. “Only if I wanted frostbite, Sasuke-kun.”
If Sasuke was embarrassed by his mindless comment, it didn’t show. “Well,” he leaned back into his chair with swagger that could only be described as cool, “I wouldn’t know what to expect. You were dancing in a fountain, after all.”
“Hey!” she pouted, and he thought no expression ever looked more delectable. “In my defence, the moon had made the marble shine like a million twinkling stars.”
“Of course,” he replied, his voice holding a suspiciously teasing lilt. ”And I’m sure the empty bottle of Chardonnay you were clutching like a lifeline had nothing to do with it.”
“I only had half the bottle - honestly!”
At the playfully exasperated expression settled on her face, Sasuke found that all his wit and knack for a smart repartee had deserted him quite unceremoniously. The silence that had settled over them once again was comfortable enough, and he was satisfied to simply watch the progression of the cherry blush that was spreading across her face as she realized that he was quite blatantly staring her down.
That is, until the classic repetitive tone of her cell phone broke their trance. She muttered a quick ‘excuse me’ before stealing a glance at the glowing screen. When she caught sight of the name, the pretty flush in her cheeks and she shot up from her chair with speed he didn’t think was possible for such a girl.
“Sorry Sasuke-kun, but I have to run!” By the time the last word escaped her parted lips, she had already staggered to the door, her bag strewn haphazardly across her shoulders. The small ringing of the door bell alerted his senses of her departure, and he didn’t know how to categorize the uneasy feeling within him at the realization that he had been ditched by her, twice.
And it wasn’t until he caught sight of the weathered copy of Pride and Prejudice still sitting on the table that he realized that he was indeed, very screwed.
He shook his head mentally at himself before reaching out to grab the old book, clutching it tightly in his long fingers.
It had only been twice, but she had captured his attention more than any other of her gender ever had.
-
The third time he saw her, he recognized her straight away.
Perhaps it was because she plagued his mind more than constantly, but he was in no place to admit that to anyone, not even himself. So he settled on believing that it was simply because her vibrant hair contrasted everything else at the black-tie party they were both currently attending.
And it didn’t take him long to notice that her not-quite Mr. Darcy was latched firmly onto her thin arms. When her bright emeralds picked him out from the monochrome crowd, they sparkled like a diamond in the sun. “Sasuke-kun!” she waved, a delicate flip of her hand. “Over here!”
It wasn’t his style to oblige the whims of a girl, but his legs had grown a will of their own. With the grace of an Uchiha, he weaved his way through the crowd effortlessly to arrive at a short stop in front of the beaming couple. “Sakura,” he acknowledged. “Neji.”
“Sasuke-kun!” she beamed, the innocent smile hanging on her lips. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised to see you here, eh?”
“Aa,” he replied, suddenly uneasy in the presence of this girl and her whateverboy. But whatever he was feeling inside had no chance of making it onto his patrician features, and he offered them a small nod before sweeping himself away to converse with a nearby socialite.
He hated associating himself with those gold digger socialites - but today, it somehow seemed like the lesser of two evils. He had nothing against the Hyuuga man - he was a good businessman, managed his corporation with adequacy. It was just that whenever Sasuke saw him so near her, any respect he had for the man dissipated all too fast.
And he could barely explain why.
It was a slow night from then - and he wondered momentarily why he had come at all. Glimpses of the cerise haired woman in dazzling emerald today were few and far between, something that conflicted him greatly. On one hand, he wanted to see her; she was perfectly tolerable to the eyes, he told himself. But he had absolutely no desire to see the thing still latched onto her arms (i.e. Neji).
And he wouldn’t have remembered at all, had the nearby conversation of a flirting gold digger whore- er, beautiful socialite not drifted to his bored ears.
“Oh, Shio-san, you tease me so!” Cue over exaggerated giggle, and Sasuke needn’t imagine the fluttering eyelids and fingers for him to know her actions - prayers knew how many times that situation had presented itself to him. “Every girl would think first that ‘p&p’ is Pride and Prejudice! It’s a girl’s dream, no?” she paused, watching as Shio laughed heartily to her comment. “But I know now not to embarrass myself! From now on, p&p will forever be ‘playboy and porn’ in my mind,” she added with a last laugh.
Sasuke tuned out Shio’s booming laughter. It was only a moment later that he remembered the weathered, dog-eared copy of Pride and Prejudice still lying on his desk, lost against the volcanic mess of papers. He resigned himself to putting the pages in his car once he returned home - there seemed to be no pattern, no rule to when she would pop up in his life.
For the remainder of the night, unbeknownst to him, the thousand-watt scowl eased slightly from his face.
-
The fourth time he saw her, he could hardly recognize her.
Sasuke nearly recoiled with the shock of her appearance, but caught his facials just in time. Nothing alarming passed through his carefully filtered features, lest he offend her in some mundane way (not that he cared of course. It was simply for formality’s sake). Clearly, if nothing else could be deduced from the situation, it was that something had gone terribly, terribly wrong.
“Sakura?” he ventured hesitantly.
A sniffle arose from the Sakura-esque being before she looked up. When her bleary emeralds met him, there was no denying her identity. But what the hell had happened to her?
“Oh. Sasuke-kun,” she monotoned. “Hi.”
“Are you okay?”
She shot him an incredulous look, as if silently asking if he was absolutely stupid. But to her credit she said nothing about it as she shrugged, “I’ve been better.”
Clearly, Sasuke thought. He dropped down next to her on the ledge, and they lapsed into a comfortable silence then. Taking this opportunity, Sasuke really studied her. It was true, she was an absolute mess. There were unseemly bags under her eyes that spoke of long, sleepless nights and her cheeks, which had held a healthy flush before, were barely there now. Evidently, she had skipped out on a few meals, if the hollow in her cheeks and accentuated cheekbones were any indication. There was also no trace of makeup on her face; though she had never worn much, Sasuke could tell that there was absolutely nothing artificial on her now. The effect was a tired girl, more tired than he had ever seen her, yet-
Yet, he still thought she was absolutely beautiful. She looked almost ethereal, sitting there, staring off into the distance.
Sasuke snapped out of his trance when she shivered, a chilly winter-spring breeze passing them by. Immediately, he shrugged out of his coat and draped it over her shoulders. At first, she looked as if she were about to protest, but the energy to do even that left her, and she only offered a quiet thank you.
At long last, she uttered a quiet, “How are you?”
Though he doubted she really cared about how he was and conversation looked to be the last thing she needed at the moment, he indulged. “All right.”
“You haven’t changed a bit, have you?”
“People in general don’t really change.”
She laughed a little then, but it died as fast as it had arisen. “Sasuke-kun, surely, you don’t think I’m still the same? You must be thinking, ‘good god, what in heaven’s has happened to this girl? She’s an awful mess.’”
“Not quite in those words, no.”
“You’re just too nice, Sasuke-kun,” she paused, tilting her head slightly. “You’ve always been a super nice guy. You just hide it behind that touch façade of yours.”
“How could you tell?” His tone was half-teasing, but he genuinely wanted to know why she sounded so sure.
“You’re still here talking to me, aren’t you? You, the successful, young millionaire, sitting by the roadside talking to a girl who looks as good as homeless. Now what does that tell you, Sasuke-kun?”
“You’re not homeless, Sakura.”
“I know that. You know that. The world doesn’t.”
“What happened to you, Sakura? It’s not like you to sound so pessimistic. That’s my role.”
She shrugged softly. “Someone told me that this is what love does to you. If this is what love is, then I think it’s awfully ugly.”
Sasuke clenched his fists. The Hyuuga did this to her?
“But no,” she continued. “I don’t think this is love, thank god for that. For love to have done this, I would’ve had to be in love and be loved in return to begin with. This is something else entirely.”
For the first time, she smiled somewhat genuinely up at him. Ironically, this concerned him more than anything else that had transpired between them already. It looked like it took so much effort on her part that she was ready to collapse.
Alarmed, he stood up. “Sakura. Let’s go. And here, put this on.” As he said this, he shrugged out of his jacket and put it over her shoulders. When she made no effort to move, he grabbed her wrist and started to lead her away. She neither protested the action nor approved, but she walked with him nonetheless. They reached his car after a few minutes, and once they got in, Sasuke remembered her novel.
“Here,” he said as he handed her the book. “You left this in the café last time.”
She brightened considerably at the sight of it. “Oh! You grabbed it for me? I was so disheartened when I thought I’d lost it for good. It’s a precious copy to me. Loads of sentimental value and all that jazz. Thanks, Sasuke-kun!”
She actually hugged the weathered book to her chest as she said this. Sasuke was simply glad that some of her usual liveliness returned.
“Where are we going, Sasuke-kun?”
He didn’t answer for a while, weighing his words carefully. “Somewhere you can rest peacefully. After you do, then, we’ll talk.”
-
It turned out the place he was talking about was his very own apartment. It was a spacious loft, clean and crisp, black and white. Sakura was at a loss. At the look on her face, Sasuke shook his head.
“Don’t worry. I don’t mean anything more than to give you a place to just god damn rest. You look like you haven’t slept for weeks. Clearly, where you usually sleep isn’t working for you. I thought someplace foreign might do you some good.”
The protest died on Sakura’s tongue at his thoughtful words, and she could do no more than give him a thankful peck on his cheeks. He was gone before she could see his blush, but he reappeared within the minute with a t-shirt and shorts for her. “Here, shower, then take a nice, long rest.”
She followed the direction that he pointed her in, and as soon as she disappeared from his sight, a tiny, tiny real smile blossomed on her face.
She had been right about him all along.
-
In the end, she ended up sleeping for fourteen hours straight.
When she woke up again, bleary and unfocused, she had thought that it was only 9pm the same day. When she walked over to open his industrial blinds, she was shocked by the bright morning sun that streamed in, and she could only smile in exasperation. Sasuke had been right. Sakura hadn’t felt this well rested in weeks. With a blush, she recalled that she’d fallen asleep tangled in the bed sheets that smelled like Sasuke, and she was sure he’d also been in her dreams, all reassurance.
It was then that she smelled the delicious scent of breakfast. Enticed, she left his room in favour of the kitchen, and was surprised by the scene that met her. There Sasuke was, clad in pyjama pants and a t-shirt, frying eggs like a master chef.
Sakura giggled despite herself and made her way towards him.
“I didn’t know you could cook.”
He seemed to notice her for the first time. “You’re awake. How did you sleep?”
“Like I’ve never slept before in my life,” softly, she added. “Thank you, Sasuke-kun.”
“Good. Do you eat eggs?”
“Love them!”
In one smooth movement, he transferred the contents of the pan onto two plates and brought them over to the table. Sakura followed him and for a while, a comfortable silence lapped over them. The curiosity was nearly coming off him in waves, though, and after a few bites, Sakura leaned back.
“So, Sasuke-kun. You’re curious.”
He nodded slowly. “What happened? Who did this to you?”
“I did this to myself, probably,” she mused. “In any case, do you remember how I was dating Neji?”
Sasuke noted the past tense. “Yes.”
“Well, we weren’t really dating, per say. He was a really good friend. One of my closest, after Naruto. Well, a little more than a year ago, he came to me and asked a favour of me.”
“I just had to be his pretend girl friend for a while as he worked out the things with his family. He was already in love with someone else at that point.”
Sasuke looked confused. “But why did he need you?”
“Oh, you know his family. Big and complicated. Well, they already know me and approve of me and everything. Neji dear had this whole thing planned out. There’s really no need for me to cover the logistics, but basically, with me involved, the plan was for him to finally be able to be with her.”
“But you fell for him,” Sasuke deadpanned.
“Oh, nothing as romantic as that,” Sakura replied easily. “He’s like a brother to me.” She paused as she considered her next words. “Now that I think about it, I’ve been awfully pathetic. If you think so, too, Sasuke-kun, you should say so.”
“Pathetic? No.”
“Well you will, in a moment, after I finish. The thing is, I haven’t really been hurt by heartache. Now that I really think about it, I’ve just been left with a really horrid case of abandonment.”
“He left you?”
“Of course, as planned. But as soon as everything worked out, I suddenly realized how absolutely good he’s been to me. Without his constant presence and caring in my life, I suddenly felt so incredibly alone.” She laughed then at herself. “Oh god, look at me. I’ve been running around like a heart broken girl when my heart hasn’t even been touched.”
Sasuke was silent for a long while. “It’s a horrible feeling, being alone.”
“You understand, don’t you, Sasuke-kun?”
He seemed like he didn’t hear, but Sakura could see the agreement written clearly across his person. This was a feeling that couldn’t be accurately communicated in words, and it was enough that they both understood this simple concept.
Suddenly, looking at him, Sakura was hit with a wonderful feeling. The emptiness that had filled her for the past few weeks was gone, replaced by a warmth that radiated from her very core.
This warmth, she knew, was Sasuke.
-
Four months later.
“Sasuke-kun!” she called out from their bedroom. “Where on earth is my white tank top?”
“How the hell should I know? Your shit is everywhere!”
“Hey! Don’t call my shit shit!”
“You just called it shit!” Sasuke said as he appeared through the doorway. True to his words, Sakura’s things were everywhere. His previously neat and prim apartment had been reduced to her habitat. Her clothes were strewn all over their unmade bed, and bits and pieces of her lingerie were dangling in odd places all over the room.
“Oops,” she said as she picked up the offending object from the bed. “My bad, it was here all along!”
“Clean up your things once in a while, won’t you?”
She scurried up to him and threw her arms around his neck, cozying against him. “Aww, but you love me just the way I am, don’t you, Sasuke-kun?”
He grumbled something incoherent in reply. She stopped his mumbling by placing her lips against his, offering him a quick and sweet kiss as compensation. “I love you just like this, my awkward and adorable Sasuke-kun.”
Sasuke looked slightly green at being called ‘awkward and adorable’, but the little nymph in his arms had his thoughts otherwise occupied. She was clad only in her bra and panties, Sasuke realized a little belatedly. Once realized, though, it was a thought that couldn’t be left untended for. She was looking up at him with large, innocent doe eyes. It was an expression that was irresistible to him, and it made him just want to taste her, devour her.
Sasuke wasted not a moment more as he crushed his lips against hers with none of the sweetness she’d offered. He was all urgency and desire as one hand moved to unhook her bra and the other to remove her panties. Somehow, her nimble hands had also worked to remove his own shirt and pants, and they were tumbling on the bed, a mess of tangled limbs and passions.
As they lost each other to their throes of lust and love, there was only one essence of certainty that hung in the air between them, forever and forever present.
They would both never again feel that empty, hollow thing called loneliness.